Ontwerp voor een adreskaart 1884 - 1952

This address card design was made by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries. The card is almost empty but is elaborately bordered in black ink. Imagine the artist hunched over the page, carefully inking in all those tiny tendrils and bunches of grapes. It’s a bit like drawing with a scalpel, isn’t it? I wonder what De Vries was thinking of as he composed this frame, with its Amsterdam coat of arms at the top and those curious waiters at either side. What sort of address was he imagining being written within? It reminds me a little of Aubrey Beardsley, but with a Dutch accent. There’s the same sense of playful art nouveau, but with a touch more earthiness. All artists are in conversation with one another, borrowing, stealing, and building on what’s come before. And we viewers, we’re part of that conversation too, bringing our own experiences and interpretations to the mix. Painting is an ongoing exchange.